The Prince and The Pauper (21/24)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Ariokamoto
Rating: PG-15
Genre:Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything.
Summary: Keito was a common citizen of the South Kingdom until the night his family's house burns down. Without anywhere to stay, they end up moving into the servant's section of the royal castle. There, along with his best friend Yuto, Keito meets the five royal princes...and catches Prince Daiki's eye. This is a spinoff of The Prince's Princess, by my sister ai_ai_gasa2 . It's basically a retelling of the story from Keito's perspective. I would encourage you to read that fic first if you haven't, but you don't have to have read it to understand the story. You can find the prologue for that fic here. Please, enjoy!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
The only reason Keito woke when he did was that the floor was an extremely uncomfortable place to fall asleep. His back, neck, shoulders, and hips were all stiff and aching, and once he had opened his eyes he found the prince's room flooded in daylight. He must have slept much later than usual, despite his discomfort. He looked down, trying to catch a glimpse of Daiki's sleeping face, but all he got was the top of his head and the scent of sunshine, the golden band he wore digging into Keito's collar bones. He rolled his shoulders, one of those little waking up noises nestling in the back of his throat, brows furrowing slightly when he felt just how stiff his muscles were. Daiki shifted slightly, his nose burrowing into Keito's chest, and Keito stilled, enjoying the feeling of Daiki's heartbeat under his hand, nestling down to doze off until the doorknob twisted, and drew his focus. The door swung open, Yuto popping his head in, his friend catching Keito's eye and motioning for him to come. Keito glanced down at Daiki's sleeping form, Yuto getting the hint, but shaking his head, insisting. Keito frowned a bit, concerned slightly. What could Yuto need him for? He really didn't want to wake Daiki, but he tapped him gently on the shoulder, rubbing circles on his back, and murmuring
"It's morning. I have to go, Yuto needs me." Slowly Daiki shifted, his hands coming up to rub his face before he opened his eyes, blinking up at Keito, his body still half in his lap. Keito looked back at him, slightly uncertain. Daiki hadn't ever told him what he had decided last night. He wanted to kiss him, but he was scared. What if Daiki didn't want him to? What if Daiki, even after last night, decided that he didn't want to be with Keito anymore? But Daiki had a little grin on his lips, and he leaned in, planting a chaste kiss on Keito's lips, and murmuring
"I'm sorry." Keito felt relief was over him at the words, and he leaned in, planting his own kiss on Daiki's lips, taking in the warmth of him, the smell of him, as endorphins flooded his brain, and he grinned into the kiss. But then when he pulled away he could see Yuto waiting for him, his friends brows furrowed, lips pursed, his stance radiating wrongness, and Keito felt the concern pull him back to reality, and he pulled away.
"I've got to go."
"But..."
"Something's wrong." Keito shifted, standing and pulling Daiki up with him, steadying him before slipping out the door, Yuto immediately starting off, down the hall, Keito rushing to keep up with him, Yuto talking as he went, his voice apologetic, and slightly upset.
"I know you guys needed some time, I'm sorry, but you need to know...it's your mom. She was fine in the morning, but last night she wasn't feeling well, and now..." A pit dropped in Keito's stomach, Yuto's words striking fear in his heart. "She's really sick Keito. We don't know how she got it, but..." His voice trailed off, an apology written all over his face, pitying him. Internally, Keito swore, and he asked
"Where is she?"
"Your parent's room. C'mon." Yuto broke into a run, Keito keeping stride with his leggy friend, until they reached the door to his mother's room, and they both stopped, catching their breaths. There was a silence, and once Keito had his breath, he entered the room. It was still, the only sound ragged, stuffed up breathing. He approached the bed, the sound of his footsteps causing his mother to turn her head, and he finally got a good look at her. She was shivering, her body covered in a sheen of sweat, her eyes hazy, face pale. It was shocking. She had seemed fine just yesterday morning. She had been able to work, and now...
"Ken..." Keito froze, but his mother smiled up at him, and said
"You came back. You came back to us. It's been hard Ken. Keito, he's worked so hard. I've missed you. It's been hard without you." Her words fell like lead into his stomach, and he didn't know what to do, what to say. He felt tears well in his eyes as the thought registered-She thinks I'm dad. He swallowed the lump in his throat, whispering
"Go to sleep, get some rest...Katsue. Focus on getting better, okay?" He took a deep breath, relieved when she nodded, buying down under the covers until only her forehead was showing. He stood there for a moment, eyes grazing over the mop of black hair splayed out across the pillow, panic welling up inside of his chest. He slipped out the door, barely making it out into the hallway before breaking down completely, the weight of the last few days tearing him apart. He didn't cry, but he leaned back against the wall, despair threatening to drown him. His world was crumbling. His father was a terrorist, his mother so ill she didn't recognize him, his home had burnt to the ground, and his boyfriend, the man he loved, was probably obligated to throw his family in jail. He was running out of things to hold on to.
He didn't know when he had sunk to the floor, but he was grateful when Yuto pulled him to his feet, saying
"Let's get some food in you, c'mon." He led Keito down the hall toward the kitchen, all the while saying
"She'll be okay. The sickness will pass soon, mom made her a special soup. We just have to help out a bit more with her stuff until she's back on her feet." And just like that, Yuto granted him a goal. He had to hold himself together, because his mother needed him to keep, not only all of the paperwork in order, but do the actual sewing as well. The clothes weren't going to mend themselves. Without further ado he scarfed down the breakfast Mrs. Nakajima placed in front of him and returned to his mothers work room, ignoring his mastiff muscles and puffy eyes, and getting to work, first cataloging the clothes that needed repairing, then setting to work mending them one by one. As he worked his eyes caught on the half finished shell of fabric that was intended to be the princess' wedding dress. His mother had just started the beading, bits of bright blue crystal sewn in with the pale white. The dress was going to be a stunning creation.
It was just past lunch when he was joined by company. Yuto popped his head in, announcing
"We came to help!" He entered, being trailed by Prince Chinen and Daiki.
"What can we do?" Keito was taken aback.
"Um...these are finished, you could deliver them back to their owners...I guess." He gestured to the stack of patched up clothing, tying the knot in his thread and biting off the end, folding the garment and moving on to his next item. Yuto nodded, grabbing a stack of clothes, Prince Chinen mimicking him, and the two exited, leaving him alone with Daiki. The older young man grabbed a shirt from the stack of items that needed to be repaired, examining the holes, as he said
"Yuto told us about your mom." Keito looked up in surprise. Daiki's voice was even lower that usual, grave even, and when their eyes met he felt Daiki's empathy wash over him.
"Keito, I'm so sorry...about everything. You don't deserve any of this." Keito felt the suppressed emotions churning in his stomach, and he stared blankly down at the fabric in his hands, trying to pull himself together. Daiki shifted, coming closer, and he said
"Tell me what you need me to do. I'll do anything, just-please....I don't know what to do." Keito wrapped one arm around Daiki's middle, pulling him close, until he felt his head rest on Daiki's ribcage, and he buried his face in it, as hot tears started burning his eyes, and he quivered on the edge of breaking down again, but he bit his lip, and breathed in the warm comforting scent of Daiki, and held the hopelessness at bay. Daiki carded his fingers through Keito's hair, one hand gently rubbing Keito's shoulder, and they stayed like that for a long time.
In the next week Prince Chinen, Daiki, and Yuto all played big parts in helping Keito maintain his parents' jobs. They all even learned how to sew. Chinen explained that all of the brothers would be helping, except that the rest of them had taken off for the Northern Kingdom early the morning after Keito and Daiki's fight, with a crazy scheme to rescue Prince Rensuke from the terrorists. Every night after work they would sit up, looking for some glimpse of the other prince's, returning from their mission, Yuto looking extremely worried, until Prince Chinen fell asleep on the floor of the lookout tower. From there Keito and Daiki would always carry him to bed before crawling into bed themselves. They had taken to sleeping in Keito's room together, their bodies pressed close due to lack of space on his little mattress, legs intertwined, arms wrapped around each other as they slept. It was always too hot, any movement causing joints and bones to press into each other, but it was comforting. It was supportive. It felt to Keito like becoming two parts of the same one thing. It was good.
Finally, finally, Keito's mother started showing signs of recovery. One day her fever broke. Then the next day she got out of bed for a bit, and she ate a proper meal. Keito felt a weight lifting from his shoulders as her condition improved, and he realized just how scared he had been that she wouldn't get better. In the next week she started taking over her duties once more, and as she did Keito found he had more time to worry. What was going to happen now? How was the rescue attempt going? Had they saved the prince yet, or was he still in the hands of the terrorists? Was his father there? If he was, were they going to kill him? What was going to happen to him, and his mother now? He ran through scenarios in his head, and no matter what, he didn't see a way all of this could end well. One day, during his worrying, he had to ask
"What's the punishment for terrorizing the country?" His question startled Prince Chinen, and the littler boy looked up at him in surprise
"Um...hanging, or life in prison." Keito let that notion sink in. He could very possibly be spending the rest of his life in jail. The tiny prince wrapped his arms around Keito's broad shoulders. "Don't worry Keito. Daiki won't let that happen to you." Keito couldn't find the correct words he was supposed to say, they were drowned out by all of the wrong words, so he said nothing, turning over the idea of life imprisonment in his mind, beginning to feel sick. After a fashion however, Yuto burst in, announcing
"There's a letter! The others sent a letter!" And then everything was motion, the three of them taking off in a sprint for the King's office, Yuto and Keito skidding to a halt at the door, while Chinen burst in, asking
"What's happened? What'd they say?!" Keito barely caught a hint of Daiki's low voice before the door swung shut, blocking out all sound. The door stayed shut for a long time. Keito and Yuto leaned up against the door as they waited, straining to hear any snippet of news, their concern outweighing their manners. Keito couldn't make out any words, but he could hear the resonance of the three royal family members' voices, seriously discussing. Then, abruptly the door opened, knocking Keito back. Keito scrambled to his feet, embarrassment washing over him about being caught eavesdropping, at the door of the Kings office no less. Daiki slammed into him, going up on his tiptoes and wrapping his arms around Keito's neck, burying his face in the crook behind his ear, and Yuto just stared up at them from where he was still crouched by the door, taken aback by the suddenness of it all. Keito was afraid.
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